Alyssa Gehman

Breaking down research silos to understand a shifting Salish Sea - UBC News The Sentinels of Change Alliance shows what’s possible when collaboration is a foundation, not an add-on.

“If we want to understand how #climatechange is shaping the Salish Sea, we need integrated data from across the coast—and we need to build it together, from Day 1," said Dr Alyssa Gehman. @rhizalyssa.bsky.social @hakai.org news.ubc.ca/2026/01/brea...

The Sentinels of Change Alliance are committed to collaborating within their team, as well as with community and non-profit groups. (Image credit: Clare Kiernan)

The Sentinels of Change Alliance brings together 26 researchers to investigate patterns of biodiversity, ecological change, and resilience across the Salish Sea. @rhizalyssa.bsky.social @zoology.ubc.ca @hakai.org @chrisharley.bsky.social
ubctoday.ubc.ca/breaking-dow...

Parasites of the hermit crab Pagurus hirsutiusculus; distribution, prevalence, and thermal ecology Parasites are common throughout the biosphere and can play significant ecological roles. However, most parasites are understudied, particularly with regards to how their prevalence and impacts vary wi...

RESEARCH: Parasites of the hermit crab Pagurus hirsutiusculus; distribution, prevalence, and thermal ecology. Co-authored by Dr. Chris Harley (@zoology.ubc.ca) and Dr. Alyssa Gehman (@rhizalyssa.bsky.social ) journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Parasitic barnacles that turn hermit crabs into near-zombies? New UBC/Hakai research that surveyed 4,200 crabs at 65 sites shows these parasites are widespread across B.C., vulnerable to heat waves, and may be multiple cryptic species.
Read more 🔗 tinyurl.com/4tfb5fjj

Can some sunflower stars resist disease? Hakai researchers, with DFO, are testing stars from Calvert Island for Vibrio pectenicida resistance and how warmer waters affect infection. A step toward protecting these vital marine predators!

So great to connect! And these are so amazing!!

Driven by the pain of endometriosis, this scientist is uncovering clues to its causes Katie Burns is helping reveal the immune system’s role in the long-neglected disease

So, right now, the only reliable way to diagnose endometriosis is with exploratory surgery. But finally, real scientists (instead of male scientists), are on the job & of course they’ve identified multiple markers in menstrual blood that point to noninvasive testing.

www.science.org/content/arti...

🌊 A decade-long mystery solved: UBC-led researchers identified the bacteria behind sea star wasting disease (Vibrio pectenicida FHCF-3), published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

A huge step for marine recovery. 🪸🌍

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02797-2

Our marine biology career advice panel went great! Thanks to the Ecological Society of America for inviting me and giving me a chance to do something to help students. #ESA2025 @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social

This is figure 2, which shows the disease signs and trajectory of P. helianthoides exposed to SSWD.

A study in Nature Ecology & Evolution identifies a bacterial species as a cause of sea star wasting disease, which has been responsible for billions of sea star deaths since 2013 and widespread loss of kelp habitats. go.nature.com/46I4kx2 🌊 🧪

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer

After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

by @craigwelch.bsky.social

www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Billions of Starfish Have Disintegrated—and Scientists Finally Know Why A devastating bacterium has decimated populations of sunflower sea stars, predators that play a crucial role in their environment

Spoke with @rhizalyssa.bsky.social and Melanie Prentice about their investigation into what was causing billions of sea stars to disintegrate to death. The culprit: a bacterium by the name of Vibrio pectenicida. Read more about their work here:

It turns out the densovirus is just a virus that is often associated with sea stars - the paper you reference actually states that as well.

After a four-year investigation, a breakthrough study reveals the cause of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). A strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida is the culprit behind the marine epidemic that has killed billions of sea stars since 2013. Read the study: 🔗https://tinyurl.com/4rcb3xpf

Very proud of the work from lab members and collaborators that coincidentally came out today www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... and www.nature.com/articles/s41.... A bacterial and viral pathogen associated with mass mortality in seastars and oysters. @kevinzhong2006.bsky.social @rhizalyssa.bsky.social

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

We are so proud of our sea star wasting work that came out today. This interactive article is very complete and includes beautiful videos.
Unmasking the Sea Star Killer www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

For @biographic.bsky.social, writer @craigwelch.bsky.social followed @hakai.org scientist @rhizalyssa.bsky.social's quest to unveil the the killer that decimated populations of sea stars off the West Coast. It took a few years but the lab's hard work paid off: www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Trump officials take steps toward a radically different NSF Efforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress

For those having a hard time following all the changes to NSF by the Trump administration, here's a wrapup of the past week's momentous events--and what they mean for the agency. www.science.org/content/arti...

Ten Vital Services Provided by NOAA (Beyond the National Weather Service) Far too much of the media coverage supporting NOAA only mentions one of many things they do: here are 10 more.

Ten Vital Services Provided by NOAA (Beyond the National Weather Service) blog.ucs.org/science-blog...

New research on endangered sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) was just highlighted in
@nature.com. The study, led by Hakai Institute research scientist @rhizalyssa.bsky.social, shows Pycnopodia finding refuge from sea star wasting disease in BC's coastal fjords🔗 tinyurl.com/shzdtawj

Mussel beds are vital to the health of rocky intertidal ecosystems. We recently sat down with two members of the Hakai geospatial team to learn how AI and deep learning are transforming mussel mapping and monitoring on BC's Central Coast. Read the full story 🔗 tinyurl.com/bdezt98t

Thank you!!

9 out of 10 sunflower sea stars were wiped out — but B.C. researchers say fiords provided refuge | CBC News B.C. researchers have found that the fiords of the Central Coast may be providing refuge for the critically endangered sunflower sea star, a discovery that could have implications for wider ecosystems...

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Critically endangered sunflower sea stars are seeking refuge in B.C. fiords A new study says the cold-water fiords on British Columbia's central coast may hold a key to sea star survival.

vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/04/02/c...

A newly published study finds that sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) threatened by sea star wasting disease (SSWD) are finding marine refuge in the freshwater snowmelt of deep, cold-water fjords on BCs central coast. Full press kit now available🔗https://tinyurl.com/534rsnrj

US map via scienceimpacts.org visualization of economic loss due to IDC cuts to 15% as part of Feb 7, 2025 executive order, with shading denoting intensity of cuts.

Working with an interdisciplinary team, we have developed a website to communicate how the White House's proposed cuts to health research would cause losses of $16B and 68,500 jobs.

Find out how your community may be impacted.

Explore more at SCIMaP: scienceimpacts.org

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A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.” The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like “female” and “diversify.” A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude meth...

Ted Cruz said he’d found $2 billion in “woke” science grants, but his team used keyword searches that flagged things out of context, like a grant to develop a device to treat severe bleeding that mentioned “victims” and “trauma.”

www.propublica.org/article/ted-...

And I am an ally. If you are too, let the world know.

Ending the week with a little motivation from our office mural. 💙 We hope you all have a great weekend. 🦈

A bright pink purple and yellow squid is blushing with a little heart in its pupil, surrounded by little black inky hearts and is saying “I’ll make my mantle transparent to accentuate my gonads…for you” and then on top in shiny pink bubble letters it says “text your crush a squid fact”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Don’t forget to text your crush a squid fact today 😘